Diane Keaton, ‘Annie Hall’ Oscar winner and star of ‘Godfather’ trilogy, dies aged 79

Diane Keaton, the quirky and stylish Oscar-winning star of Annie Hall and the Godfather trilogy who worked with Hollywood talents like Warren Beatty and Jack Nicholson, has died. She was 79.

The news was unexpected. Keaton was not known to have been ill and no cause of death was announced at time of writing.

Her friend and First Wives Club co-star Bette Midler said on Instagram: “The brilliant, beautiful, extraordinary Diane Keaton has died. I cannot tell you how unbearably sad this makes me. She was hilarious, a complete original, and completely without guile, or any of the competitiveness one would have expected from such a star. What you saw was who she was…oh, la, lala!”

Born one of four children in Los Angeles on January 5, 1946, Keaton went into acting after watching her mother Dorothy perform on local stage. She studied drama at Santa Ana College before moving to New York and where she landed a role in the 1968 original Broadway production of Hair.

A long collaboration with Allen began with a role in his stage comedy Play It Again, Sam for which she garnered a Tony nomination in 1969. Her first feature role was in Cy Howard’s 1970 comedy Lovers And Other Strangers.

Not long after that Keaton landed the role of Kay Adams in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather and appeared in the entire trilogy.

She won the Oscar and Bafta for Annie Hall in 1978 and worked with Allen on many films including Manhattan, Sleeper, Radio Days, Love And Death, and Manhattan Murder Mystery. Keaton and Allen had a brief romance and remained friends until her death. She steadfastly defended the filmmaker amid allegations of sexual impropriety and child molestation, which Allen has always denied.

Keaton earned three other Oscar nods: for Beatty’s Reds in 1982; Marvin’s Room starring Meryl Streep and Leonardo DiCaprio in 1997; and Something’s Gotta Give opposite Jack Nicholson in 2004.

Credits include Shoot The Moon, the Father Of The Bride and Book Club films, Hampstead, and her final role in the 2024 comedy Summer Camp.

As a director, she shot the 1995 Cannes Un Certain Regard selection Unstrung Heroes, documentary Heaven, and directed and starred alongside Meg Ryan and Lisa Kudrow in the 2000 comedy Hanging Up. Additionally she directed an episode of Twin Peaks and Belinda Carlisle music videos.

Keaton never married and is survived by her adopted daughter Dexter and son Duke.

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